Chapter 55

It felt like the height of foolishness to be standing here teaching when things were so precariously balanced around him. Seiji felt himself inching toward the breaking point, and had no idea how to pull himself back. He had a feeling that tonight's meeting with Kayura wasn't going to improve his control.

So far their encounters seemed easy enough to contain, but Seiji had a terrible feeling that wouldn't last long.

He eyed Minako and Rei, sitting in a corner of his dojo. Rei was reading a magazine on Kyuudo and Minako was reading some sort of romcom manga. Both of them seemed calm and patient, which helped alleviate some of the stress he was feeling. Despite the tension still trying to maintain a normal life was causing them all, Seiji was touched that the Senshi were so strongly invested in not uprooting the Toopers' lives.

But being so scattered was wearing on the Troopers' nerves.

"Loosen your stance," he said quietly as he passed one of his students. Ran was a textbook learner, but still lacked the practical insight necessary to take his skill to the next level. He also couldn't seem to shake the need to do everything too perfectly. Seiji tried to temper his patience as he tapped another student lightly on the upper arm, monitoring as the boy adjusted his grip on the shinai.

Seiji nodded with satisfaction, but his eyes were drawn back to the two Senshi sitting quietly.

Still safe. Still relaxed.

Seiji went back to watching his students, tapping and commenting as he observed. They were eager to please, and that made him feel a bit strange. His grandfather had always lauded respect of authority, but Seiji felt that sometimes a good way to learn was by questioning the status quo.

His mind dragged itself back to the burdens at hand.

They couldn't continue this way – trying to fit everything into tiny, strangely ordered fragments of routine. His classes were filling up as word spread. While he was flattered, accommodating everyone was going to pack his schedule full.

Shin was having to take on increasing levels of work and responsibility as he got closer to the end of his studies. A PhD was a lot of work, and Suiko already had a few gaps in his accomplishments from their detour through the Underworld and then to retrieve the Senshi.

Shuu's branch of his family's restaurant had become wildly popular, leaving Kongo very little flexibility these days – and it was getting particularly famous for serving five-star cakes and pastries from a particular new and popular pastry chef – which wasn't slowing him down any.

Touma was…well he was Touma. His brain was more than enough to take on the task of solving their problems and the rest of the world's problems, but the institute he worked at wasn't very flexible with their workloads and he was already making up for lost time.

And Ryo…just needed to figure himself out.

Before the Senshi had come back into their lives, the rest of the Troopers had been concerned over the idea of Rekka wandering around in Aokigahara. Preserving nature while saving people from themselves was very…Ryo, but Seiji didn't think it was what Ryo actually wanted to do.

That was a problem for later.

Right now, his job kept him far enough away to be a problem. Ryo was going to be the last guy to any crisis happening at Nasuti's or in the city, and it was driving Rekka nuts. Ryo's mood swings were becoming difficult to handle. The only time he seemed calm was when he could be around Ami.

Which was something else someone needed to talk to him about. Maybe they'd all just…draw straws. Seiji admitted he wasn't as patient as he could be these days.

On top of everything else, the Senshi were trying to get a foothold in the Troopers' world – and they weren't being patient about it. Seiji understood why, but he wished they would give themselves more time. This wasn't a rush. Building a life was overwhelming, and trying to do it while dealing with being constantly on your guard seemed like a massive headache to Seiji.

They seemed to think that was normal. Seiji wondered what sort of lives they'd been living before.

Still. They'd impressed him with their determination.

He was having a hard time understanding how all of this was going fit – how they were going to work it out. But the Senshi seemed confident it would be fine. Seiji was worried they felt that way since they'd already been targeted and they didn't mind drawing fire from the enemy if everyone else stayed safe.

The Troopers weren't going to stand for that.

Seiji wasn't going to stand for that.

There was the sound of bamboo hitting bare flesh followed by a grunt and some foul language. He tried not to sigh as he turned to investigate. He promised himself he wouldn't lose his temper.

And hoped it was a promise he could keep.

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Minako yawned, looking up from her manga as she snapped it shut, finished. The series just seemed dull when she compared it with her waking life. Across the dojo, Seiji looked amazing in his hakama, patiently correcting students' forms and postures.

Hmmmm.

She tried not to drool, but wiped discreetly at the corner of her mouth anyways. Beside her, Rei still had her face buried in a magazine, so Minako assumed no one had noticed her slip.

"It's pretty rude to drool over someone when they're working," came the priestess' caustic voice from behind the publication. Minako scowled at her, turning to pull down her eyelid and stick her tongue out at her.

"What are you, six?" Rei shot back. Minako shrugged moodily and turned to stare out the windows. She thought about getting up to stretch, but was pretty sure her right leg had fallen asleep, and didn't trust that she wouldn't fall on her face if she tried to stand.

She was absolutely not falling on her face in front of Seiji or his students.

She got lost watching him again as he smoothly separated a tussle between two angry-looking teens. He was so….competent. Normally, he'd never be her type. He was reserved and formal. But Minako couldn't deny that those traits also allowed her to trust implicitly that he took everything seriously and could be relied on. And the leader side of her – the Senshi side of her – loved that.

And if she was honest with herself, his sincerity was...very attractive. His dedication and focus did funny things to her insides. He made her want to be better. And while Minako knew she was a catch – who wouldn't want a bubbly, gorgeous woman like herself? – she felt like Seiji was an even better catch.

He probably had his pick of other women. There was no way women weren't throwing themselves at him all the time. On the way here, two had stopped him on the sidewalk to flirt. And that was being polite. Minako had nearly had to avert her eyes one of the offers had been so salacious. But they'd been tall and gorgeous. Confident, even when he'd politely turned them down.

Which had probably been a good thing, considering Rei had looked ready to roast both of them.

The amusement of the memory faded.

What if he got tired of her? She wasn't particularly good at being reserved or formal. She could, she absolutely could. But only when the situation really called for it. Otherwise, she couldn't seem to keep the rest of her personality under wraps. There was no reason he wouldn't get annoyed with her eventually.

He reminded her of Rei. And frankly, sometimes Minako wasn't sure why she and Rei clicked so well. They just did.

Rei's grumpy, snooty demeanor pulled Minako in like a moon into a planet's orbit. Someone so serious and irritable was pretty much asking to be messed with. But a deeper part of Minako needed to break up all that formal somber attitude. Levity was important. Everyone needed to learn how to enjoy life. Especially since none of them could be sure it wouldn't be cut short on them.

The other part of her personality felt a kinship with the way Rei took Usagi's safety so seriously. When it came to her job as a Senshi, Minako took everything seriously. She frowned. Maybe she should be more in touch with that side of herself when it came to Seiji?

"Stop thinking so loud. And if you two don't stop mooning over each other I'm leaving," Rei snapped from beside her. Minako blinked out of her thoughts and turned to see that Rei had lowered one side of her magazine to raise an eyebrow at Minako over it. She flushed, embarrassed at being caught out and then frowned.

"What are you talking about? He's teaching class and I'm bored," she muttered, crossing her arms defensively. Rei rolled her eyes.

"You two are ridiculous. He's making eyes at you when you're reading. He's teaching and you're making eyes at him. Why don't you both just admit you've got a thing for each other and get it out of your systems?" she grumbled.

Minako flushed red, but then cleared her throat, overcoming the instinct to snap something pithy back at Rei. She'd been...super patient so far.

"I seem very….not his type," she confessed after a moment. When silence greeted this confession she finally looked over at Rei to find the woman giving her a dead-eyed look.

"That man is gone over you. Apparently, blonde goofballs are very his type," she said blandly, her tone implying she couldn't believe Minako could be so short-sighted. Minako sighed, looking at her hands clenched in her lap. She fidgeted. Even Rei didn't see her as anything but a goof.

But Minako was gone over Seiji. Very gone. He'd been too chivalrous, too attentive…too….concerned, and she'd fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. Not that she thought he'd mislead her. It just seemed like they might be a bit…incompatible in their regular lives. And if he decided he didn't want her anymore – if he decided someday that she was actually a nuisance to be around – she might just be devastated.

"Rei…" she said quietly. The priestess didn't answer, but Minako could feel the moment she had her full attention. "Why do you like hanging out with me?" she asked, swallowing hard and looking down at her knees. There was a heavy silence from beside her, and Minako half expected Rei to snap out an irritated reply and brush her off.

She half felt she might deserve it. The priestess had tolerated her strange moods with a suspicious amount of patience, and Minako had no idea how long that might last. Rei grunted.

"What is with you lately? First, you act like we're going to hate you for something we all clearly share responsibility for. Now you're acting like you're lousy girlfriend material. It's like you've forgotten how to be Minako, and it's really annoying," she snarled in a low voice. Minako flinched but scowled.

"That doesn't even make sense," she defended feebly. Rei snorted, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

"I'm not ever repeating this, so listen up," she muttered grudgingly. "I like you because you're Minako. Because you're fun, and cheerful and spontaneous. But you're also hard-working and serious. You're a good person, and you know how to shake things up." She turned then, fixing Minako with a sharp violet gaze.

"Minako. You're a good leader. You're a good Senshi. You have a lot to offer someone like Seiji, so don't forget that," she said gently. The expression melted into a scowl then. "Because I'm not reminding you again," she added.

Minako smiled weakly at her. "Thanks Rei," she said quietly. Rei sighed dramatically, raising her magazine back up.

"I hope you get over whatever this is quickly. It's getting on my nerves," the woman muttered, going back to her reading. Minako rolled her eyes and went back to staring out the window, trying to shore herself up. If she was sitting here wondering what she had to offer someone like Seiji besides her looks, maybe it was time to consider making a few life changes.

In her last life, she'd pursued her dreams of being an idol, but now…Minako just…couldn't imagine being on stage and singing. Not anymore. She'd tried. And it hadn't ended up in a very satisfying career. Modeling had been flexible enough to let her stay in the spotlight to an extent and keep up with her Senshi duties, but that wasn't exactly a long-term career. And she would be starting at rock bottom all over again…older. She wasn't a young, fresh-faced girl anymore.

Ugh. This wasn't helping her feel any better. She was realizing now that she'd invested a lot of her energy into a…niche career field.

A woman with pink skin and wearing some sort of…red swimsuit ensemble chose that moment to stop in front of the window Minako had been staring out of. The combination was so strange Minako blinked out of her thoughts.

And looked up into the face of one of the DD Girls.

She froze, staring wide-eyed at her.

She should have guessed that the DD girls might make an appearance. None of the other lesser youma had, but then…the DD girls weren't insignificant.

A rustle of paper indicated Rei had pulled down her magazine. She felt her companion tense, both of them briefly paralyzed with the shock.

"We cannot let her into this dojo," Rei hissed. "There are too many innocent people here." Minako nodded, subtly.

"Yes. I think there's a back door through the office, but she might move to follow us through the glass," she replied out of the corner of her mouth.

Damn.

What were they going to do? She didn't want to signal Seiji and cause panic either. The youma seemed to be waiting for them to make a move, and Minako didn't know what might count as a move. The pink-skinned woman looked down then, oblivious to the stares outside she was starting to get. Minako looked down as well.

To see a tiny green tendril making its way up through a gap where the tatami met its framing. Next to her leg.

Everything happened at once.

Rei's hand was suddenly on her arm, and the priestess bodily lifted her away, rolling and using her feet to toss Minako towards the office doorway. Minako moved with the fall, using the momentum to come up on two feet and then run for the second exit. She shoved the door open so hard it banged against the opposite wall, but Minako didn't have time to worry about any potential damage. She thrust a hand into the air and summoned her transformation.

And then was wrapped in a cocoon of vines, that same awful electric shock from teenage memory hitting her system like a sledgehammer, working a startled cry from her throat.

It had been a long time, but it still hurt it had been yesterday. She had to remind herself that she was older, wiser, and stronger now. Minako breathed through the pain, and struggled to work an arm free. When it became apparent she couldn't do that, she gestured with her finger, firing a crescent beam at her opponent, gasping with relief with the tendrils loosened and she hit the ground.

"Are you all right?" Rei breathed, next to her now. Minako nodded, jumping back up to her feet, not willing to give her enemy a moment of vulnerability.

A completely different set of vines wrapped around she and Rei then, cinching them tightly together, and the awful electrical attack resumed. It felt like having her organs fried, and she gasped out again, working with Rei to get one of her limbs loose.

A nasty snarl rolled in on the air, and just as suddenly as the vines had surrounded them, she and Rei dropped. Minako groaned, rubbing her tailbone. All the falling was getting old. She jumped up again, dismayed to find Seiji now in front of she and Rei.

And between them and not one, but two of the DD girls.

What had he done with his class?

"AKU RYO TAI SAN!" two ofuda hit the youma in the forehead and Minako didn't waste time. She blew a kiss, and snatched the heart up, spinning into a Love and Beauty Shock. She heard Seiji unleash a Raikozan as she completed her rotation, and then the three of them were standing in a silence that felt deafening.

At least the DD girls were gone.

Seiji turned then, his visible eye intense as he caught the two of them in his stare. "Are you both all right? You should have gotten my attention," he said in a low voice. Minako couldn't decide if it was anxiety or anger that rode his tone. She met him stare for stare.

"We didn't have a lot of time to act, and I didn't want to put your students at risk. They were making their way into the dojo," she replied, trying to keep her tone level. Inside, she was still quaking over the encounter. She couldn't believe it had been so easy to subdue them. She reminded herself that she wasn't fourteen anymore. She was a grown-up. She was stronger.

"You're not ok. You look shaken," he said, coming to a stop in front of her. He put armored hands on her shoulders and stooped to peer into her face, his brow furrowed. Minako shook herself and smiled at him.

"Seriously. I'm fine. Just a little spooked," she said firmly. Seiji shot her a doubtful look.

"I need to go back in and dismiss my students. I'll close the dojo for the rest of the day, and we can get back to Nasuti's. I think Ami should look you both over," he said. Rei flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Don't bother. You shouldn't make such a fuss over nothing," she said, fixing him with her own intense stare. He frowned at her, letting go of Minako's shoulders and turning to face her.

"I don't get this lack of concern you all seem to have over your wellbeing," he growled, "But it's starting to bother me." Minako sighed, running a hand through her hair and stepping closer to him.

"It's not a lack of concern, Seiji," Minako said quietly. "Life goes on, despite everything that's happening, and it's important that it does." She fixed he and Rei both with a level stare. "If we stop everything – if we stop living our lives – isn't that the same as losing the fight?" she asked, the corners of her lips turning up just slightly.

"I would never let something as stupid as a poor copy of a youma inconvenience me, and neither should you," Rei huffed. She dropped her transformation and made her way back into the dojo, her silence the final word.

Seiji blinked after her before turning to face Minako again. He released his armor and sighed, running agitated fingers through his hair as he spun back towards her. Minako tsked, and then laughed a little, reaching up with gentle fingers to fix the mess he'd made of his head. The view of him in his kendo attire was even better up close, and her heart thumped against her chest as the scent of cedar and incense, with just a hint of ozone reached her nose. She smiled at him again.

"This is your dojo and your reputation. Your students weren't targeted, and they're safe. We took care of the problem and we are safe. It's important to you and your family that you give your students the attention they deserve," she reassured him.

"Besides," she added, tone lighter now, "I've been enjoying your class, Seiji-sensei. Your students aren't the only ones dazzled by your talent." She grinned, waggling her eyebrows at him, hoping to get an eye roll or a snort and loosen him up.

He didn't take her bait.

Instead, a light dusting of pink appeared briefly over the bridge of his nose and across his high cheekbones. He was still for a moment, studying her face, his own perfectly calm and unreadable. Minako wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he leaned down, and her eyelids lowered of their own accord.

And then he closed the gap. And kissed her.

She gasped softly against his lips, but then put her hands on his shoulders, leaning into the embrace as she felt one of his arms come around her waist. His kiss was even sweeter than it had been in the cemetery, full of aching sincerity and an emotion she barely understood.

They parted finally, breathing softly against each other's lips, before his own curved into a smile.

"Guess I'd better put on a good show then," he replied in a low voice.

And Minako flushed to the roots of her hair. He chuckled, and then backed away slowly, sliding his hand down her arm and twining their fingers together. He raised his eyebrows at her as she tried to work the jelly out of her legs without letting him know how much he'd affected her.

"You might want to let go of the Sailor Venus look before we get inside," he advised her. Minako laughed then, looking down at herself, relieved for the distraction.

"Yeah, probably," she agreed with a nod, releasing her transformation. He tugged at her hand and she followed him back down the narrow alley and into his dojo. Without her senshi gloves, his hand was even warmer, and callouses on his palm made her heart rate pick up, just a bit.

Once they entered the office, the scent of musk and cedar hit her nose, and she realized that she already associated the smell with comfort and safety. He let go of her hand before they exited the office, and she dutifully looked for Rei, parking herself back beside the woman at the low table where they'd been sitting before they'd vacated to the alley.

A tiny pile of a black, grainy substance was still on the floor at the tatami edge, and Minako furrowed her brow at it.

Somehow, it'd been separated from the main youma, and hadn't cleared out once they'd disappeared.

An idea came into her head, and she blinked, looking around for something that might contain the substance. She reached nimble fingers into the magazine Rei was reading and plucked out a subscription envelope. Rei leveled her with an irritated stare, but Minako separated the card from the envelope and then crawled over to the framing and carefully used the card to scoop the black, ashy substance into the envelop. She folded the card then, and tucked it in the envelop with the ash before using the pre-glued strip provided to seal the small packet.

She tucked the envelope into her purse, and then looked up in time to catch both Rei giving her an odd look. Across the room, Seiji was also looking at her strangely, though he was more discreet about it. She shrugged self-consciously.

"Er…maybe Ami can…get something out of it?" she tried telling Rei. The priestess shrugged and went back to her magazine.

The phone in the office rang then, and both women snapped their heads over to look at it. Minako looked at Rei. "Should we answer it?" she asked.

Rei looked at her expectantly.

Minako met her stare for stare as the phone continued to ring. Rei raised her eyebrow. "It's not my boyfriend's dojo," she said flatly. Minako blushed and then sighed and rolled her eyes. She got up and darted into the office, grumbling, to snatch the phone up on the last ring.

"Hello, this is the Date dojo. The sensei isn't available right now, but I'm happy to take a message for you!" she chirped, hoping she sounded professional enough.

"Minako, it's Ami. Is everything ok there?" Ami sounded worried. Frowning, Minako leaned her hip against the desk, staring absently at the ceiling.

"If by ok you mean that we just trashed a couple of DD clones then yes?" she replied. There was a gust of air on the other end and Minako wondered what Ami was thinking.

"We had one here at Ryo's cabin. Ryo dispatched her…very enthusiastically," the blue-haired Senshi said quietly into the phone. Minako frowned, putting a hand to her forehead and trying to think past the dark feeling of foreboding building inside of her.

"The question is why? It's not like they were any harder to beat, and we didn't learn anything about the enemy's objective. I really can't imagine they plan to go through every major enemy we've ever had. That's…nuts. Ami – are the Outer Crystals ok? I know their growth is accelerating, but I'm a little worried about them. Are they still, like, hidden?" she asked in careful tones.

Ami made a humming noise on the other end of the phone and then Minako heard the mad scramble of clacking computer keys.

"They still look dormant, but the growth is accelerating even faster. We might want to actually find the Outer Guardian incarnations and check to confirm that they're ok," she said thoughtfully. "But really, it's much more likely in response to an escalating threat to this Universe than anything else. Our Planetary Crystals are unique here – we haven't been reborn. Since we're transplants, if someone was looking for us the odds of them finding the Outers instead would be slim. They'd have to really know what to look for, and we make a fairly noisy distraction."

Minako sighed. That made sense, but she was still on edge. The sooner they laid eyes on the Outers, the better she'd feel, but realistically, keeping eyes on them constantly on top of everything else was going to be impossible.

They were getting pulled in too many different directions, and she wasn't sure how to keep them together and focused.

"Yeah. But it's kind of weird that they only seem to be looking at us right now. I just…don't like it. There's a lot of distraction going on right now, and it makes me worried about what they're trying to distract us from," Minako replied, looking back up at the ceiling.

"Yes, I agree," Ami said, her voice sounding vague. "The enemy's energy has two different signatures that have been spliced together, and it's making it difficult for me to understand where I might have seen either before. I can't place it yet, but I will soon," she added, apologetically.

"You'll figure it out Ami. Give yourself time," Minako rushed to reassure her. "Oh! I was able to collect a sample of that black stuff they leave behind," she said, straightening as she remembered.

"How unusual that you were able to actually retain it. I'll take a look at it this evening. I hope it gives us something more to go on," Ami fretted over the line. "All right. Let me call the others and make sure everyone else is ok. You and Rei stay put for now," she advised Minako.

"You got it!" Minako chirped. The line clicked and then she hung up, replacing Seiji's office phone in its receiver absently as she went back to staring at the ceiling in thought.

Why did this enemy seem exclusively interested in the Inner Guardians? For heaven's sake, the Troopers were carrying mystical armor around that Minako had personally seen level an entire city block. Why no interest in those? Of course, she was grateful for it at the same time. Minako didn't care about being targeted necessarily, but she did care when her friends were. And she'd annihilate anything that came after Seiji. If he didn't annihilate it himself first. Liking someone with powers equal to or greater than her own was strange.

And all of that aside, somewhere out there, the Outer Senshi were presumably kids, with Planetary Crystals ripe for the taking. She hated thinking about it that way, but it was true. Theoretically, it would be easier to take that power from someone who couldn't defend themselves – or didn't even know they had to.

…They really did need to check in on the Outer Guardians, and sooner rather than later.

In any case, there were plenty of tempting power sources in this Universe to steal that were going unmolested. The Troopers and the Senshi were already on guard, and everyone was focused on keeping Usagi safe. So why go after power sources that were so difficult to obtain?

It was a great big blind spot in the middle of everything that seemed to get bigger by the day. And it filled her with unease. Minako tapped her fingers against her lips, turning her stare vacantly to the office exit door.

This enemy knew them. It felt….very personal.

She frowned. No matter. Minako didn't care what forms they took, she would destroy anything that came after Usagi or the Crystal. They could try coming after her, but Minako was prepared to give them the fight of their lives.

"Who was it?"

Minako twitched, turning to see that Rei had appeared in the doorway.

"Ami. Same thing. A DD clone showed up at Ryo's cabin. He apparently dispatched it energetically, and everything is fine there now," she said quietly. Rei looked troubled as she met Minako's gaze across the office. Minako was sure her face mirrored Rei's, but there wasn't much they could do except wait.

Minako hated waiting.